The Persistence of Memory
by TrippyToastersAndABagOfChips
Summary: Five years after the events of Persistence of Loss, the many battles have left survivors. Some have lived in peace, while others have lingered in the shadows, biding their time and plotting revenge. When a mysterious man appears in Hollow Bastion, events are triggered that will bring about a war that crosses the very boundaries of time and space.


_**Okay, for real this time. No more crappy troll badfics. This is the real deal, peeps.**_

_This is a sequel to my story, the Persistence of Loss. If you haven't read that first, then don't complain about spoilers and general confusion about what's going on._

* * *

Chapter I

As Dead as Leaves

* * *

"I believe he is beginning to stir."

"Keep an eye on him. He's a skilled fighter, so don't take your eyes off of him for even a moment. The last thing we need is for him to injure himself in a panic."

"He's no threat. Look at him. He could barely rise to a standing position in his condition."

"Still, I want no accidents. He's too valuable to lose after all the work we put in to get him back in the first place."

He was... in a place of bright light and cold air. His head hurt, like someone had struck it with a hammer. His wrists and ankles were held in place by metal bolts that offered no chance of escape.

"Ah. His brainwaves are beginning to show signs of activity."

"Monitor them carefully. If he begins to show signs of manifesting any abilities we have no knowledge of, I want him sedated immediately."

He opened his eyes.

Before him was a strange place of machines. Many people in white coats rushed about the room, checking various monitors and announcing jargon he didn't understand.

Three people stood before him who did not wear the clothes of the others. A tall man with green hair and a long sword that was carried over his shoulder. An attractive woman with pink hair and what appeared to be horns atop her head.

And the last was a man in ivory armor trimmed with gold. This man was old, but his eyes showed no signs of weariness. Instead, his very gaze commanded respect. His white beard was trimmed and cut, and his hair was shoulder-length.

"Ah, the boy is indeed awake," the old man said. "Hello. Do you understand what I am saying?"

He opened his mouth and tried to speak, but all that came out was a thin rasp.

"Of course," said the old man, shaking his head. "His throat would be dry after days of disuse. We have the knowledge to thwart death itself, but we still forget the most obvious of things. Someone bring him a glass of water."

A moment later, a girl returned with water and went to him, pressing the glass up to his lips. Surprised by how thirsty he was, he drank it up greedily.

"What is your name?" asked the old man.

"R... Riku," he managed to gasp.

The old man smiled. "Excellent. Alert the High Empyror that he is alive."

* * *

Riku was given a delicious meal, and dressed in warm clothes. He felt better, but he was suspicious of these people. In particular, he was wary of the man with the long sword, for he had seen him once – that man was Blados, the former servant of Iodem in Tolbi. He did not recognize the old man or the woman with pink hair, but he quickly pieced together enough from their conversation to know that they wanted something from him.

Riku's recent memories were hazy, but he remembered enough – he and Xion had fought in Venus Lighthouse, and he had died. Everything after that was fuzzy.

It seemed somehow these people had brought him back from death. He didn't know how – he had died as natural a death as someone like himself could.

He was no longer in the body of Ansem... he remembered releasing his latent dark powers to defeat Xion, only to find that she had somehow called upon power of her own. In the end, he had failed Sora. He had no idea what was happening now – how much time had passed since then? What had happened to Xion? Was she still with Felix? Why was Blados here instead of in Tolbi? Was Sora still alive? Had Xion attained the other Essences yet?

Far too many unanswered questions.

The question that was bothering him the most – more so than _how_ these people had brought him back to life – was _why_.

He looked around the white sterile hospital room he was in. Despite having been treated very well by these people, it was clear he was still their prisoner. There were always guards present. Even now, there was one at the edge of the room watching him eat. The possibility for escape was minimal. He had no idea where he was or how to get out, and he was in a very weakened state. He could not use any magic (though he hadn't been able to do that since going to Weyard), and his Soul Eater was gone. Overpowering these people was not a possibility.

Riku looked up as the old man entered the room. He nodded to the guard who was watching Riku, and in a moment, it was just the two of them.

"How are you feeling, Riku?" the old man asked him. "Have you felt any pain or lethargy? The resurrection process is not perfect, as much as I wish it was. The longer one has been dead, the more difficult it is to bring them back, and you'd been gone for several days before we found you."

"I'm fine," he said slowly. Best not to try to escape yet. Wait, and find out who these people are and what they want. "So... who are you?"

"You can call me Mintus," the old man said. "My companions are Blados and Chalis. I can see you're quite confused about your situation, so please ask me anything."

"This place... where am I?"

"This is the city of Tuaparang. We're in Weyard, in a location I'm afraid I'm not allowed to disclose at the moment."

"I see," Riku said. So he could ask anything, but Mintus could not answer everything. Even so, he could still learn something from which questions Mintus answered. "So why did you bring me back to life?"

"The High Empyror requested it of me."

"What would he want with me?"

"I'm afraid I don't know that one," Mintus said with a shrug. "He does not disclose all of his plans to us."

"How would the High Empyror know where to find me?"

Mintus scratched his trimmed white beard. "Some of our agents were able to track you down. I suppose it would be better to say that we were not looking for you specifically, but the events at Venus Lighthouse got our attention. There were three massive bursts of energy there, one of which came from you. By the time we got there, you were gone, but we found your grave some time later in Contigo."

Well, that answered quite a bit. He would be taking a risk with this next question, but he had to ask. "Do... you have Xion as well?"

Mintus blinked. "I'm afraid I don't know who that is. Is this a friend of yours?"

Riku frowned. A lie, perhaps? No, that was genuine confusion he'd seen in Mintus' eyes. He really didn't know who Xion was. "You could say that."

"Is your friend in any danger? Several days have passed, but I could have a search party sent to see if they are alright. I would have to clear it with the Empyror first, but I doubt he would deny it."

Riku shook his head. "No, I'm sure she's fine." He couldn't make too many decisions yet. Not until he had a better idea of what was going on.

"Do you have any more questions?" Mintus asked him.

Riku took another bite of his meal. "Ah... so I'm guessing you guys are trying to find out what happened at Venus Lighthouse?"

"Blados has already told us what he saw," Mintus said. "He was there when it happened, in pursuit of someone who had slain his former king. He said that you offered to help him, only for an accident to happen moments later that threw everything into chaos. Blados saw the first burst of energy, but he did not witness the other two. He says they came from below, where you had fallen."

"That's right..." Riku muttered to himself. So these other two bursts of energy that Mintus was talking about... they would be him transforming into Ansem, and Xion doing... whatever it was she had done.

What was that power she had used? She had gone from being barely able to match him in his normal state, to easily overpowering him even after he'd unleashed Ansem's power.

In any case, it seemed that Blados hadn't told these people about Xion. Perhaps... he had killed her then, and he no longer cared? Mintus clearly held some position of power among these people, and Blados was apparently in the same position. Whatever this technology was that they possessed, it was enough to bring people back from the dead. He doubted that Blados would just be ignoring Xion when he had such tools at his disposal to track her down.

That made him think of something else he needed to ask. "So... how did you bring me back to life?"

"Technology," Mintus said proudly. "Something possible only through the power of Alchemy. I have spent my entire life researching this subject, and I spent more than thirty years developing the exact technology that brought you back. It cannot work for everyone, of course. People whose bodies are too severely damaged cannot be resurrected, nor can those who have been dead for too long. You were the first to be brought back after so long a time, and I must admit, for a while I doubted if it was possible, we pulled through in the end. You were lucky. The only injury you had sustained was to your heart."

Riku suddenly remembered the last thing he had seen – Xion standing over him, looking down at him with a face that looked several years older than it should have for some reason. And then, she had taken the Soul Eater, and pushed it through his heart.

"But that was easy to fix," Mintus continued, all but rambling now. "Artificial hearts were something we developed a very long time ago."

Riku looked up suddenly. "What did you just say?"

"Artificial hearts," Mintus told him. "Yes, I'm sorry but the injury that took your life damaged your heart far too badly to be surgically repaired. Don't worry, the pacemaker in your chest works just as well as an ordinary heart. It uses so little power that the battery would last five lifetimes if it needed to, and it's water-proof, shock-proof, and even resistant to Psynergy. In some ways, it's actually better than a real heart."

Riku slowly touched his chest. He felt his heartbeat, sure enough. It didn't feel any different from before, but... he undid the first few buttons on his shirt and looked down at his bare chest. There was a surgical scar right in the middle.

Well, that explained the absence of Ansem's dark power. He no longer had a heart to be corrupted.

* * *

DiZ, or as he used to call himself, Ansem the Wise, was running for his life.

He ran through the city streets, relentlessly chased by shadowy creatures. The Shadows, the most simple and weak of Heartless, were no problem for him. Even the Neoshadows were no problem, in groups of three or four. Perhaps ten Neoshadows would slow him down. A Darkside would be enough that would have to actually stop for a few minutes if he had to, but he would prefer to avoid a fight like that altogether. He had never allowed it to distract him from his true studies, but his dark magic was strong enough to keep him alive against the evil things he was partially responsible for unleashing.

The problem here was that nobody could handle such a large number of Heartless. Even a Keyblade Master would eventually be overwhelmed by a large enough force. And the city he was currently in was overwhelmed by Heartless to the point of overkill.

So far, DiZ had spotted six Darksides in different parts of the city, but there might be more in parts beyond what he could see. There were hundreds of Neoshadows around, a Heartless you rarely saw more than half a dozen of. And the regular Shadows... they were just _everywhere_. He was practically swimming through them. They crawled across the walls like insects, chasing him no matter what he did to throw their trail.

He ran into an open alleyway,

What DiZ had come to the world for no longer mattered. He had left Namine weeks ago, as she was no longer of any use to him. Riku had been killed, and with him any chance of reawakening Sora. Which meant the boy would not be able to destroy Organization XIII. He'd left, to find another Keyblade Master on another world. Since then, his search had turned up nothing but rumors. He'd been following yet another lead, when he came to this place, a city with a great bell tower. But what he had found waiting for him was the single most aggressive Heartless invasion a world had ever faced.

And he did not know why. There was nothing special about this world. All the people in the place, save for himself, had likely fallen to the Heartless hours ago. How he himself had survived as long as he had was a mystery.

He needed to get out. He had to find a way. Normally, he would have just summoned a Dark Corridor and gone through like he usually did, but his powers were somehow being blocked. He had no way to escape, and he was running out of places to look. And he was also running out of energy and strength.

If he didn't find a way out soon, he would be buried under a mountain of Heartless.

He continued to run, not paying attention to where the Heartless were driving him.

Several minutes later, DiZ found himself throwing open the doors of the church, diving inside, and slamming them shut again before the Heartless were able to follow after him.

He turned around, expecting to find a sea of yellow eyes staring back at him within the church interior, but there were none. The Heartless were entirely absent from the church. DiZ suddenly found himself in absolute silence.

"Perhaps... they cannot enter here."

He breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't understand it, but it seemed the church was safe. He went to one of the pews and collapsed into the seat, more exhausted then he'd been in a very long time.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there – perhaps he had even fallen asleep – but he was suddenly aware that there was someone sitting in the pew behind him.

"Do you have any sins to confess to?"

He recognized the voice immediately. He could never forget that low, deep voice.

"Xehanort..." he breathed.

"Not quite."

DiZ slowly turned around in his seat. The man sitting behind him had the same voice as his former apprentice, and the same bronze skin and white hair, but he was not quite him.

"Xemnas."

The leader of Organization XIII gave a hollow smile. "It has been far too long. You've been running from us. It took quite a bit of force to finally get you in the same room as me."

"You're responsible for this?" DiZ exclaimed. "This... invasion?!"

"Is it not obvious?" Xemnas asked. "Those Heartless could have overpowered you at any time, with those numbers. But you survived, and you made it here. That was because I ordered them to bring you to me. I have used my control of the dark realm to keep you here, by cutting off your access to Dark Corridors."

"How to have such control over the darkness?!" DiZ demanded. "You're a Nobody!"

Xemnas shook his head. "Once I was. But no longer." He rose, and he moved to the pew DiZ was seated at, his black coat swishing behind him. "Come with me. I want to show you something."

"What?"

"Follow me. We're going up to the bell tower."

"If I refuse?"

Xemnas smirked. "Where can you go but with me?"

DiZ glanced at the doors he had come through, realizing that Xemnas was right. He likely would not even be able to open the doors again with how many Heartless there were out there. He rose from the pew cautiously and followed behind Xemnas.

As they made their way up the church stairs, Xemnas spoke to him. "Xehanort was a master of plans. You should know, as you watched them unfold right in front of you. But his plans were truly deep. He had plans within plans. And there were many versions of him, each with plans of their own that were to gather and merge into a final plan that could not be stopped, no matter who tried.

"The thing is... there was one thing Xehanort never counted on. That one of the many versions of himself should be the one who should try to stop him. The true Xehanort was the old man. He is gone now. There was a younger Xehanort, who was your apprentice. He is also gone. There was the Heartless version of Xehanort, who possessed Riku's heart and in turn, was used by Riku. With Riku's death, that part was freed. And he, just like the others, is gone. They are all gone. The only one that remains is I, Xemnas, who was once a Nobody."

DiZ followed after Xemnas. "Where have all these incarnations of Xehanort gone?"

"They merged together, gathering within the one who remained," Xemnas said. "They came to me shortly after Xion left us. I was thrown into madness. It was not what was supposed to have happened. Somewhere, something in Xehanort's plan went wrong. Perhaps it was something I did, or perhaps it was Lunos and his tampering. In any case, I was left with many minds battling for dominance over my body. What I was _supposed_ to do was let the true version of Xehanort win, so that he may begin his plans anew as he saw fit. However... I decided not to do that.

"I went into solitude, and did battle with the invaders in my mind. One by one, I defeated and dominated them all. They put up great resistance, and they fought me for months. But in the end, it was I who won. I, the Nobody, remained. And after I left the Castle That Never Was for the last time, and I ceased to be a Nobody, I became the master of all of them. I was the Nobody, the Heartless, the Keyblade Master. But I was Xemnas, not Xehanort."

They finally reached the bell tower, where one could overlook the entire city. And indeed, DiZ realized that Xemnas had brought him there for that exact reason. For looking down, he could see the entire Heartless army. Shadows, Neoshadows, and even the Darksides. They were all gathered in the streets in perfect formation, watching the church.

And waiting.

"Once I completed my transformation, they came to me," Xemnas said, stepping beside him and looking out at the Heartless. "They seem like mindless creatures, but they do have some degree of intelligence. They need a leader to give them a purpose. Before, it was the Heartless version of Xehanort who led them. Now that his power is my own, and he no longer exists, I am the one they follow."

DiZ slowly looked to Xemnas. "And what exactly do you plan to do with this army?"

"I will decide that soon," he said. "For now, I am content to go to these small worlds and assimilate them into the shadow. Eventually, this will get the attention of the Keyblade Master."

"Keyblade Master? Who?"

"Sora, of course," Xemnas said with a slow smile. "He woke just a few days ago. Xion was taken by Lunos as his new vessel, and that freed Sora from his sleep."

And then... DiZ realized what Xemnas' true goal had been. Not to bring him to the church, or even to kill him. But he had wanted DiZ to know that his searching had been in vain. He had never needed to look for a new Keyblade Master at all.

"For right now... I am exploring the heart I have gained," Xemnas said with a smile. "I am learning what happiness is. And there is one thing I knew would make me very happy."

Xemnas grabbed DiZ and pulled the red cloth from his face, revealing the old man beneath. He wanted to see his true face.

Ansem did not struggle when Xemnas pushed him from atop the bell tower. There was nothing he could have possibly done. He fell, dropping into a sea of darkness. The Heartless swarmed on him like insects, devouring him. As he died, he consoled himself with the thought that Sora was still alive, and could stop Xemnas, but it was an empty comfort. Nobody could stop a force like this.

Xemnas smiled down to him from atop the bell tower. "I knew it would make me happy to watch you die."

* * *

Xigbar stepped out from behind one of the giant bells, dragging a black bag behind him. He was no longer a Nobody, and the signs of Xehanort's corruption – the yellow eyes and pointed ears – were gone as well.

He went to the Superior's side, and set the black bag down. "So... he's dead now?"

"Any bit of him that was still human is," Xemnas replied, still looking down at the swarm of Heartless. "He will become a Heartless just like all the others. There will be no going back this time, though. His heart will be consumed completely by the darkness, leaving behind nothing but emptiness. There will be no way to restore him, or any of the people of this city. They are gone forever, replaced by beings forever bound to me in servitude."

Xigbar thought about that for a moment. "That's fucking cool."

"What's in there?" Xemnas asked, pointing at the black bag.

"Ah!" Xigbar said, picking up the black bag and zipping it open. "I thought you should see this." He dumped the contents of the bag out on the floor before Xemnas. Pieces of stone statues, smashed into many pieces. From what could be seen of their faces, they has expressions of agony and terror. "These, uh... statue things. They were alive, but they weren't quite human. The Heartless couldn't turn them, so they just smashed them all up instead. You should have seen it, it was awesome. The Heartless were never so brutal before."

Xemnas picked up one of the pieces of the dead gargoyles – a fear-gripped eye. "Indeed. They lacked the driving force before. They are not the same Heartless as before. Under my command, they will show no mercy to their enemies."

"So what should we do with them?" Xigbar asked. "We could take them to Weyard. With these numbers, and their strength, that world could be conquered now."

Xemnas shook his head. "I am no liar. When I spoke with Felix, I promised him that Xion would never be bothered by the Organization again. Despite Sora's reawakening, Xion still exists, and she's staying with Felix in Weyard. So long as Xion is there, we will not go to Weyard."

"Then what should we do? Just let the Adepts get away with killing so many of our number?"

"All of our members still live, save for Roxas, who has gone back to being part of Sora," Xemnas reminded him. "With Lunos gone, the ones who died have reappeared as Somebodies. We must find them, and return them to my command."

"A few of them betrayed you," Xigbar reminded him in turn. "More than a few, actually. The five members who died at Castle Oblivion, Axel, Demyx... Hell, with Roxas gone, that's more than half of us."

"Vexen was always loyal. Axel only killed him to gain Marluxia's trust" Xemnas strode away from the edge of the balcony, kicking aside the dead gargoyles as he walked. "But it matters not whether they betrayed me. They are still members of Organization XIII, and I am still the Superior. They will either return to my service, or the Heartless will devour them just like Ansem."

Xemnas waved his hand, opening up a Dark Corridor. "The only one who is still a Nobody is Axel, and he is in Weyard as well. We will leave him be for now. First, we will try to find Saix. We will keep the Heartless quiet for the time being, until I have gathered all the members anew."

"And once we have everyone?" Xigbar asked, excitement showing on his face.

"Then, we will use the power we have to dominate other worlds," Xemnas said. "Any world that does not submit will be swallowed by the darkness. This world will be the first example. Nobody can stop us... not even the Keyblade Master."

* * *

A few days had passed. Riku was beginning to grow comfortable within the city of Tuaparang. There were many technological wonders to be found, from flying machines to devices that allowed one to talk to someone who wasn't anywhere near them.

They had given Riku more or less the freedom to go wherever he wanted. There were areas that were off-limits, of course, but he had already seen most of the city and palace. He had no idea where the city was in Weyard, though. The city was bordered by black walls so high he could not see over them, even in the top floor of the palace.

They didn't seem to really want anything from him besides what he had already given them. He had lied and told them he didn't really understand the natures of the energy bursts they were investigating. He did not tell them where he was really from, or who Xion was, or what he had been doing in the lighthouse.

And they never asked.

Riku's thoughts were often on the girl, and on Sora, and Namine, and of course, Kairi. He had failed in his mission, and he had died. Though he was still alive, there was no longer anything he could do for Sora. Without Ansem's power, there was no way he could summon Corridors of Darkness. He had no weapons, and his body was still weak and recovering. And while the Tuaparang had incredible airships at their disposal, they were not capable of the long flights through space that the Gummi Ships were.

He was stuck. Mintus had asked him if he wanted to be taken somewhere in Weyard. To preserve the secrecy of the city's location, he would have to have been drugged and reawakened once he had arrived where he wanted to go, but they were more than willing to help him. But what point would there be in that? By now Xion must have attained the other two Essences, and had the true incarnation that she had been after. Sora would never wake up, and even if he could, Riku could never see him again.

The only thing Riku could imagine – the only goal he could possibly see for himself now – was revenge.

Revenge against Xion, revenge against the Adepts who helped her, and revenge against Axel. But they were stronger than he was. Even with Ansem's power, Xion had still beaten him. His swordplay had always been superior to any of theirs... but when he'd been a corpse in the ground his body had grown stiff and rigid. Even after being revived, he was still quite good, but he'd lost a degree of the finesse he'd had before.

But even at the top of his game, he couldn't have beaten all those Adepts together.

With nothing left, and no way to attain even that goal, Riku simply moped around the Tuaparang palace.

One day, he found himself in the library, halfheartedly reading a book when he became aware of a presence near him. He looked up to find the woman called Chalis, one of Mintus' fellow generals, besides him. She was looking down at him with an expression of curiosity and amusement.

"What is it?" he asked her.

"I'm only trying to figure out what it is the High Empyror saw in you," she said. "He urged Mintus forward so desperately to bring you back, and for what? A little bit of information about what happened at Venus Lighthouse? Blados was there, he told us everything when he joined."

"I don't know, either," Riku told her lamely. "You tell me." In the several days he'd been in Tuaparang, he still had not yet seen the High Empyror.

"You're full of sorrow," Chalis said, taking the seat next to him and moving close. "You regret something. Tell us what is troubling you. We can help." She placed her hand on his arm.

There was a look in her eyes that reminded Riku of the witch who had seduced him to the darkness when he'd first left Destiny Islands. She clearly wanted something from him. She was so close to him that he could smell her perfume. It was strong and sweet and made him lightheaded.

"I had friends," he said to her quietly. "Friends who were counting on me. I... I failed them."

"At the lighthouse?" she asked. He nodded. "Blados told us there were others there. Adepts who were responsible for the death of Tolbi's king. He said you were there fighting them as well."

"I was," he said, a bit more sure of himself. "They're the ones who hurt my friends. One of them in particular... a girl. She was the one who killed Blados' king. We were both there to defeat her, but she beat us both."

"Riku," Chalis said, in a way that made him look up at her eyes. She was closer to his face now – closer than he would have let anyone in other circumstances. "I think I know the real reason why the High Empyror sought you out. I think he sees your potential, and he wants you."

"What do you mean?"

"We are incomplete as we are now," she said. "There are three generals, the generals of blades, cups, and coins. But we still lack the general of clubs. I think the High Empyror wants you to be the final general."

"But... why? I have nothing to offer him."

"I cannot guess his motives," Chalis said. "He does not share that with us. But I think there's more potential in you than you're willing to admit. You failed your friends, and that has brought you to sorrow. You're stronger than you're willing to admit. And even so... we have weapons and tools. We could train you. You say these people who wronged you were Adepts? They may seem strong, but we have weapons that bring Adepts to their knees. In return for the service you could give to the High Empyror, the revenge you desire could be yours."

Riku sat back in his chair, his eyes wide. Perhaps... this was it. This was the opportunity he needed. He could regain the strength he had lost with the training and weapons the Tuaparang provided him with. He had seen them already – their great airships, the guns, the blades and grenades that absorbed Psynergy... with these, Felix and his companions would stand no chance against him.

Even is he had no way to save Sora now, he could still avenge him.

* * *

"So the High Empyror has requested you to be trained as the next general?" Mintus said as they walked. "That is excellent news. He has long been looking for the other two of our number. With Blados with us, and you joining, we will soon be ready to begin his plan."

"His plan?" Riku asked as they walked. "What plan is this?"

"In time, my young friend," Mintus said with a smile. "But know that the High Empyror's vision is true. He sees the light at the end of the darkness, and we will be the hands who guide the world to that light."

"Light at the end of the darkness, huh?" Riku muttered. He'd been searching so long for that light himself. Perhaps this really was the way things were meant to be.

"We will go and meet him now," Mintus said. "He wishes to meet you. Are you prepared? The High Empyror may be an intimidating man, but his heart is good."

"I am," Riku said.

"Very well. Let us go."

Mintus led him through the halls of the Tuaparang palace, to the throne room, where Blados and Chalis were waiting before two guards. Blados nodded, and Chalis gave him a reassuring smile.

"Open the doors," Mintus ordered the guards. They moved, and pulled open the massive pair of iron double doors. Inside was the throne room, and Riku could faintly see a figure on the other side, sitting on a large throne.

"Let's not keep him waiting," Blados grunted.

The four of them made their way inside. The room was faintly lit, and it took some time for Riku's eyes to adjust, before he could clearly see the figure waiting on the throne. When he finally realized who it was, he almost felt his artificial heart stop.

Of all the people he could have possibly imagined the High Empyror being, the man who sat on the throne was the last one.

* * *

_**A/N**_: _And who is it? Guess. No really, guess. You'll probably get it right._

_ Now, what to say about this story... it's a dumb idea to do this. Right now, I'm balls-deep in my first original novel, and I have (in what I can only assume to be a bout of insanity) decided to jump back into the sub-universe of my first fanfic. I'm terribly worried that this is going to end up being one of those sequel fanfics that gets like, three or four chapters written, a small handful of reviews, and then are left alone to die a slow and undignified death in the dark corners of the pit of voles._

_ Well, no way! Even if it takes me ten years to do it, I'll get this monster written. I never give up on my stuff, I just take very very long breaks where anyone who has read it assumes I've given up and moved on. I'll finish this sequel, and I'll finish Awakening, too. Eventually._

_ I have to admit though, I found writing this to be rather refreshing. It was a nice break from my original work. Perhaps that's exactly what this story will end up being – a way for me to change things up when I get bored of my usual writing._

_ On a related note, I'd like to apologize for the troll fic earlier. Actually no, I'm not apologizing for it at all. I'm just surprised some people actually took it seriously. Actually no, I'm not surprised about that. I should have known better. I just couldn't resist the temptation._

_ What else to say...? I tried to avoid any oversights about canon, both my own and the series proper. I've made any errors, please let me know and I'll fix them up. Even though its only been less than a year since Persistence ended, it feels like so much longer. A lot has changed since then, and I'm only just returning to this universe. I'm only human, so please forgive me if I make a mistake._

_ Ciao~!_


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